Team Type 1 - SANOFI Update: Paris Tours Roster & Race Report

By: TrueSport.comPosted: Oct 10, 2011

Team Type 1 - SANOFI line up for final European race at Paris-Tours SANOFI starts its final European race of the 2011 season on Sunday with a strong lineup for the ASO-organized sprinters' classic Paris-Tours. TEAM TYPE 1 - SANOFI AT PARIS-TOURS, 9 OCT, UCI 1.HC 230.5km Alessandro Bazzana - ITA Rubens Bertogliati - SUI Laszlo Bodrogi - FRA Aldo Ino Ilesic - SLO Valeriy Kobzarenko - UKR Jure Kocjan - SLO Javier Megias* - ESP Martijn Verschoor* - NED * riders with type 1 diabetes Team Type 1 - SANOFI founder and CEO Phil Southerland said the team's final race in Europe is an indicator of how the 2012 season will look. "We've worked hard this year to build on our strengths, moving up a division and expanding our roster and schedule to include some of the toughest racing in the world. It is our mission to spread a message of hope for people affected by diabetes, and by competing at Paris-Tours in France we are effectively demonstrating the power of what good diabetes control can lead to," Southerland said. Team Type 1 - SANOFI riders Javier Megias and Martijn Verschoor both have type 1 diabetes, and must monitor their blood glucose levels continuously and periodically take insulin to manage the disease. "For me the fact that I have diabetes is no limit on my life, and racing at Paris-Tours is the best possible way to finish up the European racing season. We've got a strong squad for the finish, and expect a very fast sprint against the best teams in the world," Megias said. Team Type 1 - SANOFI General Manager Vassili Davidenko said the 2011 season will finish on a high note at Paris-Tours. "Paris-Tours marks the end of a campaign that began at the end of January in Marseille. Jure Kocjan has had a breakthrough season in 2011, and we will see him in the final mix on Sunday. At the other end, Alessandro Bazzana has been coming on very strong in the final months of the season, and we can expect him for the finish as well," Davidenko said. Also continuing strong form are Laszlo Bodrogi, fresh off his bid at the World Championship time trial event for France, and Rubens Bertogliati, who will race again at the Chrono des Nations on Oct. 16. "Paris-Tours is a very hard race, but we have been working strongly as a team in the last month of the season, and the time is right for us to finish the year well," Bertogliati said. Bodrogi 5th at Paris-Tours Team Type 1 - SANOFI rider Laszlo Bodrogi stormed to a fifth place finish at the season-ending Paris-Tours race on Sunday, working in concert with teammate Rubens Bertogliati on a twisting but mostly flat course north of Paris. Bodrogi, from France, finished the 230km race in five hours and twenty two minutes, 15 seconds behind winner Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium. Bertogliati was 18th on the day, after spending more than four hours in a breakaway with five other riders. "We worked together for a good portion of the early race, and had a gap of more than 10 minutes for a long time today. But then we were caught with about 50km to go, which was too early for the sprinters' teams to take control. With Laszlo we had the right numbers for the finish, and we attacked at the right time to try and break up the field," Bertogliati said. Team Type 1 - SANOFI General Manager Vassili Davidenko said Bodrogi's finish was a fitting cap to a long season of racing. "Laszlo has been going strong all year, and he has been in his best form of the season in September and October after riding for France at the World Championships in the time trial. Today he and Rubens raced their bikes very strongly against a top field of riders. We're extremely happy and looking forward to continued success in France and around the world in 2012," Davidenko said. Team Type 1 - SANOFI riders Martijn Verschoor and Javier Megias, who both have type 1 diabetes and must continually monitor their blood glucose and periodically take insulin to manage the disease, joined a large group of riders whose early work in the race was complete before the end of the day. Neither crossed the finish line, and Verschoor's BG was 230. "I took one unit of insulin during the race to come down to 110, and at the end of the day I was still at that level. The weather in France was colder than expected, and at the end of the year like this it's of no benefit to leave anything out on the road. The team all worked very hard this week, racing three times in seven days, and we had strong results to show for it," Verschoor said.